The Official MSI GT73VR Owners and Discussions Lounge

please share it and tell me what improvements does it bring?

no need to be scared, save your current VBIOS using GPU-Z so you can go back to it if you don't like the new one

 

If you've been wondering like I was, why you could type and use the touchpad simultaneously, despite disabling Palm Check in the Synaptics options, I found the solution.

Go Windows settings -> Devices -> Mouse & touchpad

Under Touchpad, select No delay (always on).

 

Yeah I'm seriously considering doing that, if it's fixed. If I got another laptop I would look harder at Alienware just for their in home service, but I'm leaning more towards a desktop.

 

It's actually your bios. The Kaby Lake 1080 has a different vbios with higher stock clocks. I saved a copy before I returned my old machine because someone noticed it was different than the 1080 in the skylake laptops. It wouldn't help you much.

 

more like itchy fingers....i was even waiting @kennyman to report back with the vbios update but he just disappear...hope he is good.. today someone mentioned about GTX1070 vbios and the itch came back....

Thanks to @Phoenix he made the update process easier as I m too lazy to read the commands...

as far improvement, yes...you get more clock speed, more boost clock, more pixel filtrate, more texture filtrate and higher memory clock....

Ran the firestrike benchmark, with previous (stock) vbios, i see screen flicker and sometime felt that screen shutter during benchmark but with this new vbios, butter smooth....still having the right side screen flicker problem during loading screen but when benchmark starts....all good....score is higher as compare to old vbios....temps are excellent 77 (and stays there, fans kicks in more aggressively) @ 24 ambient, where previous vbios temps goes to 79 and then fan switch to 3800RPM...I think 7RF EC firmware is really paying off now......

 

Do you know how to disable the touchpad completely when a USB mouse is connected? I don't see that option anywhere.

 

Try this solution, if you haven't...it works...

 

Hi Shehary,

Stupid question: what benefit does this bios bring over stock versions?
I'm getting lost with you guys throwing bios and vbios versions arround like candy. People try to fix all sorts of problems with a new bios or a newer or different one. I would really appreciate if one of you brave Flash Gordon's could list the various bios versions along with their benefits so I can make an educated choice.

My 6RF is doing alright with everything stock and I bought in December last year but I am generally a trigger happy person and would love to invest some rom bits and bytes if it does any good.

I imagine a 3 column spreadsheet with bios version, intended purpose and flash cmd. Do you think you can do this?

Bonus would be Firestrike score with standard clock speeds and temps on auto fan setting

Cheers

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and find yourself several thousand dollars poorer, but totally loaded on SSDs.

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GTX 10xx cards are flash protected and modified bios cannot be flashed on these cards.....till today, who know what will happen tomorrow...

The vBIOS I used to update the card is provided by @Maineiac12 and @Phoenix will also have this vBIOS....

The vBIOS I used came with 7RF model and below is the comparison of both vBIOS Left is Updated and Right is old one....see the clocks, memory, texture value difference...

so with higher clock, memory, obviously it will do better...and you can save your old vBios before updating, not happy, can go back to old vBios...anytime.....

Flash process here and if using newer version the command is here

 

I wish I can build a desktop too....but in my country we have power shortage issue and laptop is the only option...as it's also my work station and clients don't care if you live or die, they want job done on time....

I will build one when Volta comes out and Intel will launch 8 cores processor....till then, will stick to this laptop...if my itchy fingers let it live that long......

 

@Atma

I love their next business day warranty but the Alienware 17 R4 has 2 PCIe m.2 slots, and one smaller m.2 slot that wouldn't fit the 1TB 850 EVO m.2 SSD that I have in my current GT73VR, also, they don't have an FHD 120hz panel, only the 4K or 3K with 120hz but that 3K screen's colors are not as vibrant as the one on the GT73VR. Finally, they don't have the 7820HK with the QHD screen even (yet)

 

Thanks for the info. I've liked the GT73 but I sometimes wonder if I got a lemon. It cost me $80 every time I have to send it to California for repairs and I haven't been impressed with MSI's service so far. I hope the new place I had to send it is a step up in tech service.

 

I've had it with my 17R4. Out of the box hitting 96c and doing thermal adjustments of -300mhz each time it would hit it. They sent a tech out who unloaded a whole tube of paste and didn't even it out and would not let me do it and it got worse. Sent it in came back and was 5c better than as when I first got it. Turn off all OC and started playing. After 2 hours on re7 the CPU would thermal throttle down to 0.76Ghz. Alienware level 2 tech told me that even though it was only hitting 88c max after a period of time it would throttle to avoid damage. What a load of crap. Returning it and already ordered a GT73VR 6820hk/gtx1080 on sale.

 

Clevo does the same, they expect us to have an external DVD Drive

 

It is GSYNC as seen in the screenshot below:

 

MSI Support is worse than ASUS man

That's the benefit you get when you buy it from a Boutique shop like I did with HIDevolution, when I reported the issue, they sent me the FedEx guy to my house within 8 hours he was there to collect the laptop and send it back to them and they are having it replaced soon

Never buy an MSI or an ASUS directly but get it from a reputed reseller

 

Yes....it is...

 

Not everybody can spend 9K......

 

those were the SSDs that I bought, if you buy it barebone it's the same price as everywhere else

 

There's some really good deals out there. $2349 US for an 6820HK/ 1080 - yes please!

 

Could you please link me to that deal?

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While those instructions may work, it's a good idea to read the MSI BIOS / vbios instructions specific to your model, and use the tools downloaded in the BIOS / vbios update package.

For example here is the MSI GT73VR 7RF BIOS update :
https://www.msi.com/files/pdf/How_to_update_bios_en.pdf
From:
https://www.msi.com/Laptop/support/GT73VR-7RF-Titan-Pro.html#down-bios

You have to carefully read the instructions, find those specific to your model, follow the "blue" links for additional documents, often up to 3 or 4 documents to link through - reading each one - to get to the final instructions.

"3.To avoid BIOS update failures, please use the suggested update tool (if it is provided within the downloaded file) and update method for the specific model. DO NOT use neither tool from previous versions and models nor tools provided by others."

MSI tries to make it hard to accidentally overwrite with a BIOS meant for another laptop model, so you will get errors when trying to apply. But if you try to hack through using DOS tools, you can force it - and brick it

Just a heads up, flashing BIOS / vbios is one of those times you want to read through the instructions carefully several times, writing down the final steps when you grok them from the whole, before flashing.

 

Of course! Take your pick.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01K05L4QS/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

http://www.abt.com/product/103390/M...-GT73VRTITANPRO003.html?mbl_force_full_site=1

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834154325&FM=1

 

Thanks! Will look into it.

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You're absolutely right about the bios tools and documents but MSI hasn't published an official Vbios update for the GT73VR so we're making that one up as we go along using GPU-Z to extract the newer vbios and then flashing it with nvflash.

 

No problem. They're all the same model and price but each store has a different bundle offer and some may charge tax depending on where you live.

 

Could you please tell me what the best price from a reputable reseller? Thanks.

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Although MSI says not to use previous releases or models as a guide, it's better than going in blind, maybe read the 6RF version vbios instructions - or related GT73VR or GT72S docs, rather than nothing.

Or, wait for MSI to actually issue the tools and package publicly.

In my case several times Asus and MSI have given me, after asking nicely for what seemed like a dozen back and forth emails - after going through 1st level, management, next level management, engineering management, finally an engineer, the package and install instructions - unofficially written and re-written several times before they gave it to me - and it worked.

What's the rush?

 

Email [email protected] with the config you want and ask him about your NBR forum discount

 

Thanks for the advice brother @Phoenix

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you are right and I thought this too but dozen back and forth emails no way, I didn't pay $3K for dozens of back and forth emails...no body does.......on other hand, it is safe to update the vbios where all hardware spec does match....of-course I can't flash it with any other vendor vbios, it will brick the card...

Flashing wrong system BIOS is another story but I read about restoring the GPU before hand if vbios flash goes south...there are ways....all you need is laptop key combination to boot it up with USB when you end up with black screen on boot....

MSI may not issue any such thing, look at the EC firmware, missing CPU fan curve issue, 3 months, no resolution even the issue has been posted on MSI forum and also to support but dead end....

itchy fingers......

 

Be brave...be like Shehary

 

I don't have problem with my re-seller, process was simple, placed order online, next day confirmation, day after shipment detail, 2 days after laptop was on my doorstep...gave me hefty discount 4 months ago, when the max discount I was offered 2% and a re-seller even said to me "MSI didn't give us discount so we can't offer you any discount"....hahahaha

no issue till today, out of the box, worked like charm...but I will not go to Amazon, bestbuy or ebay to buy 3k laptop but for sure can spend $30 there to buy a thermal paste and pads.....

for future buying, will consider HIDevolution, GenTechPc and may be XoticPc......

 

We'll remember him fondly... (trumpets playing softly)

 

You'll find much of life is like that - it's far stranger, slower, and faster than our uninformed mind can appreciate without the experience directly applied.

It's just the way it is. There are 100k people trying to get through to a handful of engineers. You gotta prove you have a real issue, a real need, a real handle on how to solve the problem in general terms.

Without getting too fancy and turning them off to your incorrect nomenclature if you don't know it, then let the time pass and don't push it.

Above all don't give them a reason to blow you off - they'll be working hard on that for the both of you.

And, be ready to accept your idea isn't important to them, or anyone else in numbers sufficient enough to matter - not enough of a squeaky wheel.

Then you can get what you need, or not, but be happy either way - that's the real secret to happiness - be happy.

Calamine lotion, or a nice hand lotion will help alleviate that itch.

A dead laptop will increase the discomfort greatly

 

I matched the Newegg one at bestbuy to use my 12 month financing lol

 

Appreciate your concerns and suggestions, I will go easy on it in future and .will take your prescription to remove the itch...... ....agree that nobody likes a dead laptop......

 

Well, the good news is G-sync turned off seems to have been the major problem. Bad news is it still black screened once. But only once in an 1h 44m game in full screen mode! Maybe there is some other setting that SC2 doesn't like. I will turn everything to application controlled next (with Gsync and Vsync off of course) and see if it happens again.

When it did black screen though, I did notice a fair amount of lag. Yes lag. There must have been about 400-500 units beating up one of my buildings which I placed in a spot where nothing was around to kill anything attacking my building and my building was pretty much invincible so the enemy units just kept stacking. I couldn't figure what the hell was making this beast of a machine lag. As soon as I killed them no more lag. I wish I could see my FPS but for some reason SC2 keeps shutting down as soon as I start it if I have riva tuner HUD on. If everything on application controlled doesn't fix the one black screen I will try the previous driver 376.33.

So anyone having trouble with SC2 black screening, turn off G sync and V sync, although I'm pretty much going to point the finger at G-sync but until I test both separately turn both off. ... Unless you like the black screen flash lol

Thanks Senbei!

 

I played 2h with G-Sync off and vSync off in fullscreen mode and had one black screen. So it seems, this is not the final solution.
You can see the FPS, if you press Ctrl+Alt+F. You will be surprised, how low they can get with everything on extreme (even in turbo mode). Normally, if I start a game, they are about 90-120 FPS. With the first units built, it drops to 60-75. But in situations like you describe, it's possible they drop down to 20-30 FPS and then it's possible, that it seems to lag.
The bottleneck in this game is the CPU. Monitor it in task manager and you will see, that one core is at 100% the whole time, whereas the GPU is at 40-60%.
Also see:
https://www.reddit.com/r/starcraft/comments/3g83b0/technical_question_will_lotv_or_sc2_in_general/

 

Good read, that is good to know. I was a little pissed last night that it was lagging but if the bottleneck is the CPU that makes sense.

So you had one black screen also? Do you remember what was happening when it black screened? Mine was a bunch of custom units exploding at once, about 20 in an area with 40 cannon units all firing at them at the same time, might be coincidence, might not. It seems Gsync is impacting the black screens though because 1 black screen is roughly 120% less than normal. I averaged 13-15 black screen normally.

I will turn off a bunch of settings tonight in the nvidia CP and see what happens.

 

Good call! I went with the abt.com deal because I can get 12 months with them too (even though I only really need a month to part out my old desktop and sell it) plus I got the backpack bundle as a freebie. I sold the backpack for $60 which brings my costs down even further.

 

I think people are assuming that support for the 6RF is done now that the 7RF is released. A good example would be EC version .107. That EC firmware broke the advanced fan options and MSI fixed it in version .108 that they are shipping for the 7RF but still haven't placed on the 6RF download page. Now we enthusiasts know that the fan control is the same between both models so it is safe to use the 7RF EC firmware on the 6RF but your average user probably has no idea.

This is my first MSI laptop and coming from Alienware, the support is the only drawback I've found so far in making the switch between brands.

I think @hmscott just volunteered to contact MSI to get an official update for us! Thanks buddy!

 

Then I'd suggest all 6RF owners submit a request for the fixed 7RF .108 advanced fan options to be put out in a package for the 6RF, and do it quickly to get MSI's attention - the more owners that submit the request the better.

The request needs to come from a registered 6RF owner

MSI and Asus have been good about updating previously released motherboards and laptop BIOS firmware when bugs are discovered, and I think if you all ask nicely - and clearly - MSI will respond.

 

Amazon and Newegg are reputable and have good return policies should you have a problem.

HIDEvolution and GenTechPC seem to be recommended very often here but their price is $2599 but you do get personalized service and more upgrade options so it really depends on what you want. If you're comfortable doing upgrades and stuff yourself then you can probably get the cheaper version from Amazon/Newegg and do the work yourself. If you'd rather pay a pro to handle it then give HID/GenTech a call. Can't really go wrong with any of these options IMO.

 

Attention @Phoenix and other 7RF owners. MSI just released a bios update today:

https://us.msi.com/Laptop/support/G...en-GEFORCE<sup>®<sup>-GTX-1080.html#down-bios

Version: E17A1IMS.30A
Description: Fix BIOS update fail in UEFI BIOS Flash and SHELL mode.

 

No, I don't remember. I will pay attention on it next time.
What we shouldn't forget: There was a patch for SC2 this week and we don't know, what they fixed in detail. So next I will do a cross check with G-Sync, vSync and fullscreen on...
It's all a bit annoying, but for this game it's worth it

 

If there was a patch this week does that not mean it fixed nothing because we are still getting black screens?

 

We both got much less black screens. So something changed. The reason is either G-Sync off or the patch and that's the thing I want to check.